Reply #24: GODZILLA'S SECOND INCARNATION [View All]

[Demeter]

Heisei series (1984–1995)

The Heisei-era Godzilla film series lasted from 1984 to 1995 totaling seven films for the second series.

The Heisei-era films differed drastically from the Showa-era films in a variety of ways. The most prominent difference being that Toho did away with portraying Godzilla as a hero. While occasionally Godzilla would take the role of an antihero, he was still hazardous to humanity. The Godzilla suit was updated to look more realistic and much more intimidating than previous outfits. Another significant difference is the series was given an overall plotline with story arcs. Each movie happened in some sort of sequence, and referenced previous movies to further the plot of the series.

As in the Showa era, the first movie of the Heisei era, The Return of Godzilla, had Godzilla as the only monster to make an appearance. All succeeding Heisei-era movies would have Godzilla fight other monsters. In this series' final movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla dies after undergoing a nuclear meltdown.

In the same way the Showa era spoke to audiences of its time, the Heisei-era Godzilla films took on popular themes of the 1980s and 1990s. In Godzilla vs. Biollante, the movie explores advancing technology and the negative effects of genetic engineering. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah touched on US-Japanese relations stemming from World War II and introduced a time-travel plot. Other themes included commenting on research into hazardous material and making environmental statements.

The timeline was revamped in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla; this movie was created as a direct sequel to the 1954 film, and ignores the continuity of the Shōwa series. Because of this, the original Godzilla movie is considered part of the Heisei series instead of being a part of the Showa series. The continuity ended in 1995's Godzilla vs. Destoroyah after a run of seven films. The "new" Godzilla was portrayed as much more of an animal than the latter Shōwa films, or as a destructive force as he began. The biological nature and science behind Godzilla became a much more discussed issue in the films, showing the increased focus of the moral focus on genetics. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah gave the first concrete birth story for Godzilla, featuring a Godzillasaurus that got mutated by radiation into Godzilla.

Millennium series (1999–2004)

The Millennium series of Godzilla films are the third and currently last of the film series. The six films were released from 1999 through 2004.

The Millennium series attempts to bring some Showa-era trends back including, with one exception, the lack of continuity between movies. Godzilla is, however, still a hazard and a destructive force in the Millennium series...

The Millennium Series is the official term for the series of Godzilla movies, unofficially called the "Shinsei Series" (or even the "Alternate Reality Series") by American fans, made after the Heisei series ended with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The common theme to this era is that all movies use Godzilla (1954) as the jumping-off point. Since the films are different, the sizes are different in some cases. Godzilla's most prominent size in this series is 55 meters (180 feet). In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack he was 60 meters (about 196 feet), and in Godzilla: Final Wars he was 100 meters tall (about 328 feet). Godzilla was originally supposed to be 50 meters (about 164 feet) in Final Wars, but budgetary cutbacks in miniature sets forced this size change...